Wringer roller mop

ABSTRACT

A wringer roller mop comprising: an elongated mop head; a lever in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a first end of the elongated mop head; a plurality of rollers in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a second end of the elongated mop head; a linkage means in communication with the lever and in communication with a backing of a sponge refill; and where the wringer roller mop is configured such that when the lever is rotated, the linkage means moves in an upward direction towards the first end, pulling the sponge refill into between the plurality of rollers. A wringer roller mop comprising: an elongated mop head; a mop handle in slideable communication with the elongated mop head; an annular rack gear attached to the mop handle; a lever in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head; a pinion gear attached to the lever and in communication with the annular rack gear; a plurality of rollers in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a sponge end of the elongated mop head; a sponge refill in communication with a sponge end of the mop handle; and where the wringer roller mop is configured such that when the lever is rotated in a direction, the pinion gear moves the annular rack gear and mop handle in an upward direction, pulling the sponge refill into between the plurality of rollers.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This invention relates to sponge mops, and more particularly to wringer roller mops.

BACKGROUND

Wringer roller mops are a type of floor mop in which a sponge can be moved in and out of between two closely spaced rollers (i.e. the wringing action) to expel liquid and dirt from the sponge. Broadly speaking, current wringer roller mops fall into two main categories, the shotgun style mop and lever action style mop.

Direct action or shotgun style roller mops typically have a molded plastic wringing component slideably attached to a mop handle, and directly to the mop rollers. The sponge refill is typically attached to the mop handle. As the user slides the wringing component down the mop handle, he forces the rollers against and over the sponge refill, thereby wringing the sponge refill. This direct action or shotgun style mop has no mechanical advantage and may be difficult to completely wring out the sponge refill. In order to allow for better wringing, a lower density sponge may be used, which may lead to a sponge refill that wears out relatively quickly. In other embodiments, the rollers may be spaced apart further, to allow for easier wringing, however, this leads to poor wringing of the sponge refill.

Lever action style mops use a pivoting lever and a linkage to move the sponge in and out between the rollers. The lever is usually mounted pivotally near the center of a long mop handle, usually be means of a rivet. A mop head is fixed to the handle. One end of the linkage is attached to a sponge/channel assembly and the other end is pivotally attached to the lever about one inch outboard of where the lever pivots on the long mop handle. About three inches outboard of the linkage pivot is a grip by which the user may lever the sponge in and out between the rollers. The key advantage to this design is that the user now has about a 3 to 1 (three to one) mechanical advantage, which makes it easier to wring the sponge. With this amount of mechanical advantage, a manufacture may use a denser sponge and/or more closely spaced rollers. Lever action style mops require elaborate assemblies, additional parts, and higher costs.

Thus, there is a need for a wringer roller mop that overcomes these and other disadvantages.

SUMMARY

The disclosed invention relates to a wringer roller mop comprising: an elongated mop head; a lever in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a first end of the elongated mop head; a plurality of rollers in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a second end of the elongated mop head; a linkage means in communication with the lever and in communication with a backing of a sponge refill; and where the wringer roller mop is configured such that when the lever is rotated, the linkage means moves in an upward direction towards the first end, pulling the sponge refill into between the plurality of rollers.

The disclosed invention also relates to a wringer roller mop comprising: an elongated mop head; a mop handle in slideable communication with the elongated mop head; an annular rack gear attached to the mop handle; a lever in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head; a pinion gear attached to the lever and in communication with the annular rack gear; a plurality of rollers in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a sponge end of the elongated mop head; a sponge refill in communication with a sponge end of the mop handle; and where the wringer roller mop is configured such that when the lever is rotated in a direction, the pinion gear moves the annular rack gear and mop handle in an upward direction, pulling the sponge refill into between the plurality of rollers.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be better understood by those skilled in the pertinent art by referencing the accompanying drawings, where like elements are numbered alike in the several figures, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the disclosed wringer roller mop;

FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of the disclosed elongated mop head;

FIG. 3 is a side view of the disclosed wringer roller mop;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the disclosed wringer roller mop; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of the wringer roller mop from FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of the disclosed wringer roller mop 10. A mop handle 14 is removeably attached to an elongated mop head 18 near a first end 19 of the elongated mop head. The mop handle 14 may have a threaded end to fit into a threaded receptacle located on the elongated mop head 18, however, one of ordinary skill will recognize other means of attachments may be used to attach the mop handle 14 to the elongated mop head 18, all of which are within the scope of this application. The elongated mop head 18 may have a length of about 8 inches to about 16 inches or longer. A lever 22 is rotateably attached to the mop head 18 at two pivot points 26, 30. The lever 22 is configured to rotate about the two pivot points 26, 30. The lever 22 may be configured to have a handle 34 on a first end of the lever 22 for use by a user to push down on or rotate the lever with. A linkage means is attached to a second end of the lever 22 and to a sponge refill 42. A plurality of rollers 46 are rotateably attached to a second end 48 of the elongated mop head 18. The wringer roller mop 10 in FIG. 1 is shown in its ready to mop configuration. When the lever 22 is pushed down in the direction of arrow 50 the linkage means 38 is moved up in the direction of arrow 55 due to the pivoting of the lever 22 about pivot points 26,30. As the linkage 38 moves up, sponge refill 42 is pulled up in between rollers 46 and is thereby wrung by the rollers 46. Of course one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that the lever 22 may be configured to rotate in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction in order to move the linkage 38 in an upwards direction, and thus when the lever 22 is rotated in an opposite direction, the linkage will move in a downwards direction thereby moving the sponge refill 42 out from between the rollers 46 into a non-wringing position.

FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view of the disclosed wringer roller mop 10. In this embodiment the lever 22 attaches to the elongated mop head 18 at pivot points 26, 30. The lever 22 has a first protuberance 54 and a second protuberance 58 configured to rotateably fit in indentations 62, 66 located generally at the pivot points 26,30 on the elongated mop head 18. The protuberances 54, 58 and indentations are configured to allow the lever 22 to snap onto the elongated mop head 22 and rotate about pivot points 26, 30. The linkage means 38 is shown connected to the lever 22 via channel 70 in the lever 22. The linkage 38 attaches to the sponge refill 42 via eyelets 74 located in the backing 78 of the sponge refill 42. The backing 78 may be stamped sheet metal or molded plastic. The linkage means 38 may be generally stiff steel wire, such as about 16 gauge steel wire to about 4 gauge steel wire, or any other suitable material such as, but not limited to stamped metal, molded plastic, twine, fiberglass, and composite material.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the elongated mop head 18 and lever 22. The first end 19 of the elongated mop head 18 is mostly hidden from view due to the lever 22. A portion of the mop handle 14 is shown, and it is shown with a dotted line where it threads into the first end 19 of the elongated mop head 18. The second end 48 of the elongated mop head 18 shows receptacles 82 for holding the rollers 46.

The elongated mop head 18 and lever 22 may be made out of any suitable material, including but not limited to: molded thermoplastic such as polypropylene, nylon, rubber, metal, and fiberglass.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of another embodiment of the disclosed wringer roller mop 98. An elongated roller mop head 100 is in slideable communication with a mop handle 104. Located on the mop handle 104 is an annular rack gear 108. A lever 112 is in communication with the elongated roller mop head 100. The lever 112 comprises a pinion gear 116 (not visible in this view but visible in FIG. 5) that engages with the annular rack gear 108. As the lever 112 is rotated about its pivot point 120, the pinion gear 116 causes the rack gear 108 to move up in the direction of the arrow 124. The rack gear 108 is directly coupled to the mop handle 104, hence the mop handle also travels in the direction of the arrow 124. The mop handle is directly coupled to a sponge refill 42 located at the sponge end 128 of the elongated roller mop head 104.

FIG. 5 shows a generally exploded view of the wringer mop 98 from FIG. 4. The mop handle 104 may have a threaded end 132 located on a sponge end 133 of the mop handle, and configured to thread into the top of the sponge refill 42. The pinion gear 116 is clearly visible in this view on the lever 112. The lever has two protuberances 136 (and another one 140 located on the other side of the lever and not visible in this view). Protuberances 136, 140 may be configured to snap into recesses 144, 148 located on the elongated mop head 100. The annular rack gear 108 is hollow and configured to fit onto the mop handle 104 and either be riveted or staked to the handle 104. A rivet hole 152 is shown on the rack gear 108, as is a rivet hole 156 on the handle 104. Thus, during operation (referring back to FIG. 1), the lever is rotated about pivot point 120 in one direction, the mop handle moves up in the direction of the arrow 124, thereby moving the sponge refill 42 up and in-between the rollers 46, thereby causing a wringing of the sponge refill. When the lever 112 is rotated in another direction, the sponge refill leaves the rollers 46 and returns to a non-wringing position. The lever 112 may be configured to have a handle on a first end 113 of the lever 112 for use by a user to rotate the lever with.

The elongated mop head 104, lever 112, and annular pinion gear 116 may be made out of any suitable material, including but not limited to: molded thermoplastic such as polypropylene, nylon, rubber, metal, and fiberglass.

The disclosed wringer roller mop has several advantages. For the embodiment disclosed in FIGS. 1-3, the wringer roller mop provides the mechanical advantage of a lever action style mop yet retains much of the simplicity, low cost and ease of assembly of a direct action or shotgun style mop. Thus, rather than having to attach a lever directly to a mop handle with a rivet, the mop handle can simple be threaded, staked or press-fit onto the mop head. The lever and elongated mop head may be manufactured using molded thermoplastic techniques. Thus overall costs can be reduced by using a stock threaded mop handle, rather than a custom tooled mop handle requiring specially located rivet holes, and/or a linkage clearance hole. Assembly is simplified since all components mount to the mop head, instead of some components mounting to the mop head, and some other components mounting to the mop handle. The mop handle is replaceable as a stock item and is not integrated into the wringer assembly. Longer reach mops are available since the mop handle does not have to connect to the sponge refill (as is usual in a direct action or shotgun style mop), and thus the mop handle may be replaced with longer (or shorter) mop handles. For the embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the wringer roller mop has many of the same advantages. Additionally, rather than a separate linkage means as shown in FIG. 1-3, the wringer roller mop shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 uses the mop handle as its linkage to the sponge refill, thereby reducing manufacturing and assembly costs.

It should be noted that the terms “first”, “second”, and “third”, and the like may be used herein to modify elements performing similar and/or analogous functions. These modifiers do not imply a spatial, sequential, or hierarchical order to the modified elements unless specifically stated.

While the disclosure has been described with reference to several embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the scope of the disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the disclosure without departing from the essential scope thereof. Therefore, it is intended that the disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiments disclosed as the best mode contemplated for carrying out this disclosure, but that the disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims. 

1. A wringer roller mop comprising: an elongated mop head; a lever in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a first end of the elongated mop head; a plurality of rollers in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a second end of the elongated mop head; a linkage means in communication with the lever and in communication with a backing of a spongerefill; and wherein the wringer roller mop is configured such that when the lever is rotated, the linkage means moves in an upward direction towards the first end, pulling the sponge refill into between the plurality of rollers.
 2. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, further comprising: a mop handle in communication with the first end of the elongated mop head.
 3. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, wherein the linkage means is a steel wire.
 4. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, further comprising: a first eye located on the backing of the sponge refill; a second eye located on the backing of the sponge refill; and wherein the linkage means is in communication with the first eye and the second eye.
 5. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, further comprising: a first protuberance located at a pivot point of the lever; a second protuberance located at a pivot point of the lever; a first indentation located on the elongated mop head; a second indentation located on the elongated mop head; and wherein the first protuberance is configured to rotatably sit in the first indentation and the second protuberance is configured to rotatably sit in the second indentation.
 6. The wringer roller mop of claim 2, wherein the mop handle is replaceable with mop handles of differing lengths.
 7. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, wherein the sponge refill is replaceable.
 8. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, wherein the elongated mop head and the lever are made from a material selected from the group consisting of: molded thermoplastic, nylon, rubber, metal, and fiberglass.
 9. The wringer roller mop of claim 1, further comprising: a handle located on the lever and configured to allow a user to rotate the lever.
 10. A wringer roller mop comprising: an elongated mop head; a mop handle in slideable communication with the elongated mop head; an annular rack gear attached to the mop handle; a lever in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head; a pinion gear attached to the lever and in communication with the annular rack gear; a plurality of rollers in rotatable communication with the elongated mop head near a sponge end of the elongated mop head; a sponge refill in communication with a sponge end of the mop handle; and wherein the wringer roller mop is configured such that when the lever is rotated in a direction, the pinion gear moves the annular rack gear and mop handle in an upward direction, pulling the sponge refill into between the plurality of rollers.
 11. The wringer roller mop of claim 10, wherein the elongated mop head, the lever and the annular rack gear are made from a material selected from the group consisting of: molded thermoplastic, nylon, rubber, metal, and fiberglass.
 12. The wringer roller mop of claim 10, wherein the lever is configured to snap onto the elongated mop head. 